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In this year of the golden pig, which is supposed to be a prosperous time, many people are already frustrated and stressed out after just one month. Some people are upset that their resolutions collapsed after just a few weeks; others are losing faith that they can hold to their resolutions for another 11 months.
For anyone looking to soothe the mind or body after a rough January, dancing can be the perfect remedy. In fact, a trend of "well-being dance" that is claimed to heal both body and soul is becoming increasingly popular in Korean. The Chosun Ilbo visited a few belly dancing and meditative dance studios which have opened to serve people looking to shore up their bodies and minds.
Get Rid of Tummies and Depression with Belly Dancing
A brightly-colored gown sways to a mysterious Turkish tune as the sound of glittering spangles affixed to a scarf heightens the sense of rhythm. It's the ancient art of belly dancing, an unleashing of hidden sensual beauty, and it can be the perfect alternative for women fed up with boring gymnasium-style exercise.
Cho Young-yun (27) first took up belly dancing as a hobby before becoming a teacher at Jungnang Sports Center. "Even with just a 30-minute session, you'll sweat all over," she said. Consisting mainly of gestures that strengthen abdominal muscles and stimulate the intestines, it's a great work out to reduce constipation or shrink tummy lines. And the dance incorporates a lot of motions that tighten the lower body, making it a great exercise for women before and after pregnancy. In fact, belly dancing originated from a traditional dance to increase fertility.
Jegal Gyung-ran, a belly dancing student of just three months, got over some postpartum difficulties just by dancing. "After giving birth to my child, I felt a chronic discomfort with my right ovary and pelvis, but the pain disappeared after I started dancing," she said. "I'm a really bad dancer, so I struggled at first. But after three months, I think I dance quite well. My body is also in better shape these days."
A gentler style of belly dancing called "silver belly" designed especially for seniors has also become popular. "If you practice belly dancing for more than a month, it can be good for urinary incontinence," Cho said. "You can do it at home after learning just a few simple motions."
Meditative Dance for Healing the Soul
Some people claim that a type of meditative dance has psychological healing powers. "Consisting of healing therapies for the body and soul, dance therapy focuses on 'the self'. It's not a dance to show off, so you don't need to dance pretty," said Yang Hui-a, a teacher of "white dance" in Seocho-dong, Seoul. Meditative dance blends dance motions with traditional meditation techniques. But there's more to meditative dance than just releasing stress, Yang claimed. "It heals depression and pain through the mind," she said.
Meditative dance requires no difficult dance moves. You can do it after learning just a few basic motions inspired by the "rhythms" of water, earth, fire, wind and silence. But what is most important is what comes after the dance: a kind of dialogue with your body. "After you dance, you lie on the floor," Yang explained. "If you lie quietly, you can identify where you feel pain or sickness in your body. These are the parts that need your care and love." So if your knees are hurting, Yang said, "You touch your knees and tell them 'I'm sorry. You're having a hard time.' It's a time to meet yourself just as you are."
Soothing Social Pains Through Dance
Not all meditative dancers are women. Kim Yun-soo, a male student of meditative dance, said it took some courage to learn the practice. "It's more difficult for men to be introspective than women in a Confucius society," he said. "Even worse, you have to dance. I was reluctant at first, but once I started I could face my emotions and subconscious more squarely."
Lee-Kwon Myung-hui, an education director at the Women's Education Center, recently introduced dance therapy into counseling sessions with teenagers. She developed the idea after realizing that young people were more expressive when they used their bodies than they were with just dialogue. "In many cases, when children have a hard time communicating, so do their parents. Thus you will see double effects if you put children and their parents in the therapy together," Lee-Kwon said. And dancing to their favorite songs makes teenagers open up more easily. "Children will talk to their parents frankly, even without being pressured to do so," she said.
(englishnews@chosun.com )
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